Here's What an Electric VW Golf Looks Like

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Here's What an Electric VW Golf Looks Like

Here's a pic and a few more details about the Volkswagen Golf Blue e-motion concept, the electric vehicle VW says will be on the road in 2013.

Volkswagen announced the electric Golf yesterday and made a big deal of having German Chancellor Angela Merkel check it out, but for whatever reason didn't release a pic of the car until today. Turns out it looks just like a regular Golf. Imagine that.

The production model will be part of the seventh-generation Golf family slated for 2013. As we mentioned yesterday, the concept has an 85 kilowatt (114 horsepower) electric motor producing 200 pound feet of torque. Top speed is limited to about 85 mph.

The drivetrain uses a single-speed transmission developed by VW. According to Automotive News Europe, a clutch decouples the electric motor on a trailing throttle to provide what VW calls a "sailing effect" with little mechanical drag. The entire drivetrain is mounted under the hood. The 26.5 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery is mounted in what would be the transmission tunnel of the conventional car. VW says it's good for 93 miles.

VW plans to roll out a test fleet of 500 electric Golfs next year. We'll see the car, and an electric Jetta, in 2013 after the electric Up Blue e-motion city car hits the market. Audi also plans to have the e-tron electric sports car on the road by then.

Photo: Volkswagen. VW development chief Ulrich Hackenburg, left, and German transport minister Peter Ramsauer do the grip-and-grin in front of an electric Golf.